The 41-year-old officiated FA Cup, Euro 2016 and Champions League finals in 2016, cementing his place as one of the world’s best referees.

Since the retirement of Howard Webb, Clattenburg was the refereeing face of the Premier League, but former referees’ chief Kieth Hackett has revealed Clattenburg lost faith in the Premier League after their failure to back him after an incident involving Juan Mata and John Obi Mikel back in 2012.

Clattenburg, who took charge of his last Premier League game at the Emirates as Arsenal won 2-0 against Hull, was accused of calling Juan Mata a ‘Spanish tw*t’ during Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Hackett revealed:

“It’s bad news for English refereeing. The Premier League has lost the world’s best ref and it’s a massive blow. I think it’s down to poor management.”